KH3:Two Pronged Darkness
by propheticlion
Summary: Sora, Kairi, and Riku must confront the Darkness again. Only this time, there are two different forces, and one of them stems from the Keyblade War that took place a decade before. ON PERMANENT HIATUS. Sorry.
1. Darkness Reawakens

My first story, so interpret that however you want.

Disclaimer: I think it's obvious I don't own anything except any OC's I decide to put in.

Kingdom Hearts: Two-Pronged Darkness

(A fan fiction)

Chapter 1: Darkness Reawakens

Deep in the basement of a lab belonging to a once great leader of a vibrant world, in a chamber that said leader never new about, a man with long white hair began to stir. He looked around his white walled surroundings, wondering where he was. Then, he recalled what had happened the last time he was here in this state.

"Why am I like this again?" He pondered. He knew what he had sacrificed to further his own research, the research that he felt compelled to pursue, as though it were a key to something he had once had but lost.

Then it hit him. As though the question was all that was needed, he remembered his exploits, the ones he originally anticipated to pursue, and the ones that he pursued separately in an unanticipated way. He recalled how his plans were foiled by the same teenage boy. They were not things he should have been able to remember, he realized. While they were carried out by him, it was done while in forms that were separate from his whole self. Second, how is it that he has now appeared here again, where he began his true journey after months of secret experiments that came to a standstill.

But what really hit him, were the other memories that returned with the experiences of his non-existent self. Memories that answered why he was drawn to such things in the first place. The man smiled, as he knew what he must now do. He would have revenge, he would regain power, he would spread darkness to everywhere he could. Especially now that he remembered a power that had slept dormant for all too long.

In the Hall of Remembrance, deep in Ansem's laboratory on Radiant Garden, Xehanort held out his hand for a surge of power to surround it, shaping an all too familiar weapon in it, and a pathway to a realm sealed with allies opening…

In The World that Never Was, in the floating fortress abandoned by its original occupants, Maleficent, having gained dominance over the remaining Heartless in the castle now that Xemnas had been vanquished, and therefore dominion over the castle itself, had begun thinking about getting her own revenge against a certain Keyblade brat, and of gaining dominion over several worlds. A pity that Kingdom Hearts had been sealed in a number of ways now, she would have to find other ways to steep the realm of light in darkness. And having made certain preparations-

"Pete, are our guests here?" The witch inquired.

"Uh yes Maleficent, everyone gathered just like you asked. All waiting for you. But… are you sure this will work this time?" Pete responded.

"Of course, you imbecile, this alliance should be much more powerful than the last, and I will be keeping a tighter grip on them all to ensure no one messes up like last time. And with the goals slightly different, I will be sure to succeed this time."

Sweeping away from her bumbling assistant, she walked into a meeting room she had created in the Hall of Empty Melodies, thorns all around and a dark table in the center, with certain people sitting in thorn like chairs, one or two with attendants standing behind them. In these chairs included a bored looking god with blue fire on his head, an ugly clown with a horrible fashion sense, a white faced, snake like man, someone with purple robotic armor admiring the evil setting a couple yellow robots behind him, another man with a cape and a long staff, and a plump monster suspended by many large spider like legs. All turned their attention to the dark witch as she began to address them.

"With the exception of Hades over here, until recently, you had no knowledge of other worlds outside your own, nor did you know, with the exception perhaps of Xande over there," nodding towards the man in the cape with the staff, "how to use the power of darkness. My offer is simple, I will teach you how to gain great power through controlling the Heartless and the darkness, and you all shall pledge allegiance to this dark alliance, headed by Hades and myself," (Maleficent realized reluctantly there would be no other way to get Hades on board again, as his powers were sufficient enough without her aid) "an alliance aimed towards drowning the worlds in the realm of light in darkness, as we assert our rule over all of them."

All of them were interested, though one of two people standing behind the snake-like men scoffed, but cursed red eyes revealing his interest in gaining even more strength. Like his current instructor, this power of darkness was something all too intriguing to turn down.

"If we are all agreed, let us all start making plans…"

In a completely different fortress, far from all the events so far entailed, existing between the light and the dark, a man cloaked completely in red observed everything. From Xehanort's reawakening to Maleficent's new alliance. Nothing unexpected, these were the natural results of the Keyblade Master's actions and inactions. Though what caught his surprise though, was the fact that as these new events unfolded, his fortress was shifting away from its position in between the two realms, and becoming ever more present in the realm of light.

"Interesting," he pondered, "Not even in the last ten years has my sanctuary drifted more towards a certain realm. The balance must really be in danger if my fortress seems to think existing entities will be incapable of restoring or maintaining a balance." The person smiled. "Maybe I will be allowed to have some fun and get to work. Best not get my hopes up though." Sighed the man, as he continued to watch the events about to unfold, turning his attention away from the dark conspiring figures that had taken form in his chamber, and focusing instead on figures that were composed of light…


	2. A Letter on a Peaceful Day

Chapter 2: A letter on a peaceful day.

On the tropical paradise that is Destiny Islands, it would be impossible to spot anything wrong at this time. Sora and Riku had finally returned after one and a half years(1), and all traces of the dark events that started their journey long ago seemed to be gone without a trace. This must have been the beginning of Riku's line of thinking, one week after defeating Xemnas, while sitting on the trunk of the papaou tree as Sora came around to lean on the same tree Riku was on, gazing into the ocean.

"Nothing's changed, has it?" Riku asked.

"Nope, nothing ever will," was Sora's simple reply.

"Such a small world," Riku jokingly complained about the Islands. It couldn't have been otherwise after what they went through."

"Yeah, but part of one that is much bigger," Sora responded with his undying optimism and the wisdom of his journeys. "Hey Riku, what do you think it was, that door to the light?"

In response to that question, Riku jumped down off the tree, and standing in front of Sora, pointed to his chest. "That, it's always closer than you think," was his profound reply.

Before Sora could fully comprehend what Riku said, a girl came calling out their names.

"Sora, Riku."

"_Kairi,"_ thought Sora. Regardless of what Riku said, Sora knew that Kairi was his light, even in the darkness. Without her, he would still be a Heartless, without her note, he wouldn't have been able to make it back to the realm of light. And in the past week since they got back, he had been happiest when in her company. As seems to be the pattern, before any more thinking could occur on Sora's part, his attention was directed at Kairi and the bottle she now held in her hand; a bottle that had a letter with the King's seal.

Opening up the letter, all three look in earnest at what it said…

"_To Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_I'm sorry that I have to tell you this so soon after you got back, but I need your help again. There is a great deal of darkness surrounding Radiant Garden, and I am in fear for the safety of that world, and for our friends who live there. The _G.S. Highwind _will be arriving at the Islands tomorrow with Donald, Goofy, and Myself. I only hope Leon and the others can hold out till then. As wielders of the Keyblade, unfortunately we need to always fight this darkness. Circumstances aside, I look forward to seeing you all again._

_Sincerely,"_

_Mickey Mouse_

Looking at each other, worried expressions covered their faces.

"Who could it be this time?" Sora asked. "We've defeated Xehanort's Heartless, his Nobody, and all the rest of the Organization!"

"It could be Maleficent," Riku reasoned, "we lost track of her after she proceeded to stop the swarm of Heartless in The Castle that Never Was, and we were too busy dealing with Xemnas."

"We'll just have to find out," Kairi said, "The good thing is that we will all be together this time."

This seemed to cheer Sora up. The fact that he would no longer have to worry about Kairi being in the hands of someone evil to serve their goals in someway would be a great relief. Sora could protect her now wherever he was. Also, he would no longer be searching for wherever Riku was constantly drifting to. They would all be fighting, Keyblades in hand, together as the close friends that they were.

"Yeah," Sora said, his trademark smile now covering his face. "We'll all be together, and nothing will break us up. Let's go prepare for the journey."

"Okay, but there is one more thing to do before that." Kairi said.

"Oh yeah, what?" Was what both Sora and Riku asked in unison.

A mischievous glint in her eye, she suddenly responded "RACE," and took her traditional head start. Not to be left behind too easily, Sora and Riku immediately caught up, and despite the last year and a half, both Sora and Riku still would be caught dead before they let the other beat them, running past an amused Kairi, and heading towards the goal…

"_Who __**could**__ it be though,"_ Riku pondered during the race, "_and how much longer will I have to walk the tightrope of wielding both the darkness and the light?"_ Seeing he was a few inches behind Sora after thinking this, he brought his full attention back to the race, dispelling those thoughts for the time being…

Later that day, thinking he was by himself, Sora went to the secret spot that only he and Kairi knew about. Thinking it would be awhile before he could return, as seemed to be the case for the last year and a half, he wanted to check up on all the memories that existed in this special place. There was one in particular that he wanted to check up on. The one where they drew each other, and Sora returned later, adding to it with his picture giving a papaou fruit to Kairi's picture. What made his heart leap though was the fact that there were now _two_ papaou fruits. "When was this added?" Sora asked to the wall.

"Right after you rescued me and saved the Islands from the darkness."

Sora jumped. Standing just a few feet behind him was Kairi. "When did you get here?" Sora asked, all flustered and blushing profusely.

Kairi giggled. "Silly, this is _our_ secret place. You think you could come here by yourself without me knowing? I was so worried when you were gone for over a year, I almost couldn't handle it. I'm not going to let you disappear again."

"I'm sorry, Kairi. I was worried about you the entire time I was away also. I owe a lot to you. Without you, I wouldn't be here now. I care about you so much."

"And my heart has belonged to you for a long time now. I think that has become obvious since when you saved me for the first time now."

They were very close to each other now, both blushing profusely at what the other had said. Both their hearts were beating rapidly. They both realized at the same time what their feelings for each other were. Both saying the other's name at the same time, they then proceeded to say those traditional three words.

"I love you."

And before they knew it, they were kissing each other on the lips, happy to be with the one that they loved…

Later that evening, both Sora and Kairi were at the papaou tree, looking at the moonlight.

"Sora?"

"Yeah, Kairi?"

"I want to be able to fight as well as you and Riku can, especially if we are going to be fighting whatever is out there. I don't want to be a burden to all of you. I was barely able to keep up when Riku first gave me my Keyblade. I don't want to be left behind again."

"Okay Kairi, Riku and I will help you learn how to fight every chance we get."

"Thank you, Sora."

And with that, they continued to gaze out into the moonlit ocean, ready to face all the unknown challenges hiding in the darkness…

Riku watched from a distance as he saw his two closest friends get closer to each other. He was okay with it now. He had accepted this for a while now. They were still his friends, and he would be their friend to the very end.

Author's notes.

This is assuming that each journey lasted about 3 months, for a total of 6 months, plus the year that Sora was asleep due to his memories needing to be restored.

Thank you, to my one reviewer so far. I'm sorry if anything seems too cheesy or rushed in this chapter. I'll try to update soon if enough people like it. Flames will keep me warm though. By the way, I really Shirefolk's story so far. His and a few other post KH2 stories are helping inspire me to write this one. Till next time.


	3. The Devastated Garden

I'm sorry. I didn't put the disclaimer in the previous chapter.

Insert humorous comment about the fact that I don't own Kingdom Hearts here.

Chapter 3: The Devastated Garden

On the morning of the next day, Sora and his friends were ready to depart, waiting at the island where the papaou tree was. With nothing else to do except wait for the Gummy Ship to arrive, Sora, along with Riku who had been informed of the promise Sora made to Kairi last night, proceeded to teach Kairi some basic combat skills, such as the usual slashing techniques, along with some defensive maneuvers such as parrying with the Keyblade, and learning when to simply dodge an attack by jumping or moving out of the way. Kairi was tiring quickly though, considering her opponents were both able masters of the Keyblade. Panting, Kairi collapsed onto the sand, dropping her Keyblade, _Island's Embrace,_ (A/N, I just made that up because of its island motif,) beside her.

"I'm sorry." Kairi replied with heavy breathing. "I guess this is tougher than I thought it would be."

"It's okay, Kairi, for your first time against a human opponent, that was pretty good. When I faced Leon when I just got the Keyblade, he tired me out pretty quickly also," Sora replied while lifting Kairi back up off the ground, only for him to trip backwards with Kairi falling on top of him. While being close to the other for each like that was something they both enjoyed on some level, it didn't stop them from blushing, as they were still new at being a couple, and it just so happened to occur right in front of Riku.

"Yeah, Sora wouldn't have lasted as long as he has, if he didn't have Goofy and Donald helping him out a lot in the beginning. He would have been easy pickings for the Heartless. I should know, I faced him a couple times."

"Hey, if I recall, I beat you every time we faced off, with me doing the brunt of the work compared to Donald and Goofy." Sora replied defensively, having stood up again.

"Yeah, yeah. The point is Kairi, Sora and I will be there to help you out until you can fight well like us," Riku replied, figuring he would concede those defeats to Sora simply by waving them off for now.

"And even then, we'll still help you out, because we're friends. Only you will be able to help us out in return at that point."

Sora's and Riku's comments cheered Kairi up immensely. "Thank you guys, I appreciate all your help, and I promise that I will reach a level where I can help you out more than be a burden to you two." And with that she hugged Sora, wanting to be close to him.

"You're never a burden Kairi," Sora said, about to be caught up in the moment when-

"_Ahem_, I've accepted the fact that you two are a couple now, but please do me, and when they get here, the others, a favor and keep it _somewhat_ low key." Replied a somewhat peevish Riku.

While both were apologizing and assuring that they would tone it down in front of others with their faces blushing, the Gummi Ship along with its passengers decided that this was the right time to appear to pick up the adolescent heroes. Landing softly in the sand, the hatch opened to reveal Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, all in their battle gear from their last journey, and despite the happy faces they put on to greet their friends, their eyes carried worried expressions about what they were about to get themselves into.

Sora immediately rushed forward to greet his two steadfast companions from his two adventures, (plus the one that they couldn't remember,) and engaged them in a big hug. Mickey meanwhile, advanced towards Riku, both happy to see each other, but nodded heads instead, looking into each other's eyes, acknowledging their mutual awareness of more challenges that stemmed from the darkness that they have journeyed into were about to come.

"Hey, the Gummi Ship is bigger than when we last left it above Twilight Town," (2) Sora said as he looked at the renovated vessel.

"Well of course it is," came the replies of Chip and Dale, who had just exited the ship also. "We knew there would be more passengers than just the three of you," he replied looking at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, "So we made it more luxurious to accommodate more people, and even give people some private rooms."

Mickey then spoke up. "As much as I would like to stay and chat, we don't have much time, Radiant Garden is in danger, and it is our duty as wielders of the Keyblade to fight the darkness that has started to appear from their."

And with that, everyone proceeded to enter the newly remodeled _Highwind. _As the Gummi Ship lifted off into orbit, Sora took Goofy and Donald aside and asked them something while Mickey, Riku, and Kairi were at the controls in the cockpit.

"Is it just me, or is the King looking even more serious than when we went up against Organization XIII?

"You know, you're right about that," replied Goofy.

"Yeah, a few days after we got back, and the happiness of being back home with Minnie wore off, he had that worried expression on his face," Donald replied in turn.

"Uh-huh," Goofy continued, "he looked as though he had forgotten something or other and couldn't shake it off."

"Something he forgot huh? Could Mickey have a better idea of what is happening in Radiant Garden than what he has let on? What could there be besides Maleficent?"

Just at that moment, (and for the author to continue his lame humor of keeping Sora from thinking about things just as it could get juicy,) Riku and Kairi showed up.

"Mickey says we are just about to reach our destination in about a couple moments," Riku said, delivering the news.

"Well, lets get ready to help Leon and the others out," came Sora's reply, a confident look of determination on his face.

"I hope everyone's okay," Kairi said hopefully.

Upon arriving, they exited the Gummi Ship at the market place. But rather the peaceful place it was the last time Sora had looked upon the place, all the shops were broken down, buildings were toppled, fires were burning, and all around, dark creatures, big and small, on the ground and in the air, were everywhere, destroying everything and everyone in their path.

It was a scene of utter devastation.

Sora immediately whipped out the Ultima Weapon Keyblade, and yelled to everyone, "come on, we have to help now."

As everyone summoned their weapons, they all charged straight into the middle of a fierce battle to rescue all that hadn't been destroyed on this ever-restless world.

Author's notes

I had expected this chapter to get further into the chaos of Radiant Garden, but oh well. We'll get some more action next chapter plus some interaction with friends and enemies that are currently on this world. I'm sorry if the chapters are too short. I'll try to update soon, but some reviews might help.

Well, till next time.

The "Prophetic Lion"


	4. Encounters and Declarations

If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be working on the official script, and not a fanfiction.

Chapter 4: Encounters and Declarations

The thing that perhaps surprised Sora and company the most, was that the monsters they were now battling head on were neither Heartless nor Nobodies. While they were certainly dark in nature, (some of the creatures were quite adept at using powers that quite clearly had a dark signature that Riku could identify with his gifts.) But there were no Shadow Heartless to be found among them, and all the other creatures lacked the Heartless emblem that identified them of being manufactured in comparison to the pure bred shadows.

"What are these things?" Sora asked as he fended off many goblin-like monsters, taking them out with his Keyblade. "They aren't going down as easy as the Heartless, and once they are taken out, they don't disappear." Indeed, for rather than vanishing after having been defeated like previous foes, all those who had fallen so far simply were on the ground lifeless.

"Sora, help." Kairi, who was a few feet away, was about to be overwhelmed by a bunch of aerial creatures. Sora immediately used his quick run ability to dash straight towards her. Having gotten right in front of Kairi, he swung his Keyblade in a circle parallel to him, calling out "LIGHT," and activating the Reflectaga spell, enveloping Sora and Kairi in a barrier of light, protecting them both from the assault of the horde charging at them. Upon several impacts, the barrier exploded, taking out all those who had attempted to harm them, plus some on the ground, leaving Sora and Kairi no worse for the encounter.

"Thank you Sora."

"No problem Kairi, just stick near me, I'll protect you, I promise." Upon hearing those words, Kairi smiled, happy that she had Sora with her, but worried about being a burden, but nonetheless summoned _Island's Embrace _back to her hand, and proceeded to do her best to fight, just as she had in The World that Never Was, to help out her friends.

Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were working in unison. As the King was jumping all around, pushing the creatures back into a wall with his dark realm Keyblade, the Captain of the Disney guard spun around like a twister, knocking enemies into the air with his shield, where, before they could recover from damage taken already, were zapped in the air by a volley of lightning bolts summoned by the court mage.

Riku was getting annoyed by the numbers of the enemy, and they had yet to reach the area where Merlin's house was. However, that didn't stop him from using his Keyblade, _Way to Dawn,_ in conjunction with his dark powers to deliver a steady number of slashes in quick succession to scores of foes, zooming around in circles against those who came at him. He would have gone all out, using some more powerful techniques, but he knew he had to save that for later. There was in the distance the scent of a foul darkness, and had he not known better, would have identified it as-

"Hey Riku, we've taken out enough here, lets move on," came Sora's directive, everyone else moving forward towards the narrow streets that concealed Merlin's house. Dismissing what he detected for now, he joined with his friends to head towards the next bunch of monsters to eliminate.

Taking out the mysterious foes along the way, they finally got to-

"Leon, everybody, we're here to help."

Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Aerith, and even Tifa were there, each fighting with their own specific weapon or lack there of in hand, fending off all the monsters that came at them.

"Good to see you, we could use the help," came Leon's reply in his usual tone, taking a swing at another monster with his gunblade.

"Where's Merlin?" asked Donald.

"He's inside, he got exhausted fending them off with his magic. I should go check up on him know," came the ever-calm reply of Aerith, who proceeded to do just as she said.

"What's going on Leon?" Sora asked, while they continued to defend themselves.

"For the last couple of days, these things just started showing up in droves. If we can't hurry though, this world will become just as devastated when the Heartless took over a few years ago."

And, as though things were determined to just get worse after that, all of a sudden the security system that had been set up months ago, started to turn against those it was meant to protect once again, one of the units launching Donald into the air.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah."

"Again?" said an angry Leon, "Whoever is causing this must be at Ansem's old place. I'll go there to check it out."

"Sora Riku, go with Leon to check it out. If the person behind all this is there, it'll be dangerous, so be prepared, we'll handle the rest down here," came Mickey's order.

"Wait, let me go with Sora too," Kairi piped in pleadingly, "I'll be sure to be safe and not be a burden."

"It's okay your Majesty, she'll be safe with me when we go."

"All right then." Said a cautious Mickey.

Leon, Sora, Kairi, and Riku then proceeded to restore the security system by heading to Ansem's old lab, taking out all the enemies in their path. They finally reached the top of the stairs that would take them to the bailey that would take them to the uphill path to Ansem's lab when they came upon a mysterious figure.

Looking out towards the Dark Depths, which was consumed completely by the monsters that had been found all over the Garden, was a somewhat tall person cloaked in red, from his boots to his cape, to the hooded mask that only revealed the small area of the face that contained his blue eyes and the skin in between them. Though the group had stopped right behind him, curious as to who was standing there in the midst of all this chaos, he gave no sign that he was aware of the presence of others.

"Who are you, why are you here?" A suspicious Leon called out.

There was no response from the cloaked figure.

"Hey I believed he asked you a question. Are you the one behind all this?" Sora spoke in a challenging way?"

"No, I am not," was the simple reply. He didn't even turn around to face his accusers.

"Then I'll ask again, why are you here?" Leon picked up his gunblade into a fighting stance, not fully believing a person who out of the blue shows up.

"I am here to observe. It has been awhile since I have had the chance to observe something up close. I am taking the opportunity now." This was all said calmly, but there was a hint of seriousness to his tone that could not be missed.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Riku now joined in, though not raising his weapon. There was something about his "scent" that confused him.

However, at the instant he was gone in a flash from in front of them, reappearing behind them where five of the dark fiends that were covering this world lay slain, a sword with an edge made entirely out of light blue diamond in the outstretched hand of the red cloaked figure.

"You would not have been distracted if you had encountered me. Therefore, you being harmed by those, pitiful as it may be, would be my fault, and I would be liable for interfering with the balance." As he said this, the sword disappeared as red light surrounded it before vanishing. "You are right in assuming that your foe is currently where Ansem's lab is. However, this world is already lost. You should have as many of your friends try to leave this world as possible."

Upon saying this he started walking in the opposite direction of where they were heading in. However, Leon was not done with him.

"What do you mean this world is already lost? I don't believe you at all." With that Leon charged at the man, ready to pin his frustration on him. However, just as his blade was inches from his target, a force field appeared around the person, and among making contact with the barrier, Leon was blown back, burns all across his body.

"I made sure that whatever damage he took could be reversed with a potion or a cure spell. While I thank him for letting me have some fun, it was a rather foolish thing to do. I am not the one behind this, nor would I be one to harm the balance like this. I shall go now. Farewell, Keyblade Master Sora, lets see if you can live up to your title."

"Wait, how do you know who I am?

Without answering, he walked towards a circular red portal appeared out of nowhere, and upon stepping into it, the mysterious and powerful figure disappeared, the portal closing on itself right after.

"Who was that guy?" Kairi asked, stunned by all that happened.

"I don't know," replied Riku, "but there was something weird about his scent. Something that I can't quite place."

"We'll worry about him later, let's take care of Leon, then head up to Ansem's lab."

With a High Potion that Riku had stocked, Leon was back to full strength. As they headed to the lab, they had no time to think about who they just encountered, as the hill leading to the lab was even more infested with the dark creatures than anywhere else.

"Things get even more and more annoying," said a rather… annoyed Leon.

"Kairi, Leon, stand back a little, we'll take care of them all. Hey Riku, shall we do it?"

"Sure Sora."

And with that, Sora and Riku entered their "Eternal Session" limit. Back to back, they floated just a little off the ground as they started their uphill assault, quickly clearing the way with energy blasts and extended energy swords. Upon reaching the summit, where the last horde was, they finished it with the "All's End" ability, light gathering between the two Keyblades to eradicate the creatures. Moments later, Kairi and Leon also showed up.

"That was great," Kairi said.

"Indeed it was, Keyblade Master, it seems that we have worthy opponents in this new Keyblade War."

At the other end of the summit, from where the entrance to the lab was, stood Xehanort, dressed in same manner as his Heartless once did, five shadowy humanoid figures standing behind him, and in his a hand, was unmistakably a black and red Keyblade.

Author's Notes

This chapter is obviously longer than the rest, I don't know if this will be the norm, or whether the length of the previous chapters will be. I will also be slowing down soon, as while I have had most of the order of events played out in my head for the beginning, I have yet to determine the order of the worlds Sora will travel to, and that will take time for me to think out. Anyways, I hope you all liked it as always, I know I have gotten a decent number of hits.

Anyways, who is the mysterious figure? Why does Xehanort have a Keyblade? Why is he back at all? Will these questions be answered next chapter? Does the author intend to put more lame humor into the story than what would be appropriate for a more serious story?

'Till Next Time

The "Prophetic Lion"


	5. The Dark Keyblade Wielders

Does it look like I own Kingdom Hearts? (The answer is no.)

Chapter 5: The Dark Keyblade Wielders

"Xehanort!" exclaimed both Sora and Riku, their own Keyblades now in battle ready positions.

"What's this about a Keyblade War?" Came Riku, absolute bitterness in his voice.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't know. It was eleven years ago when last there was a clash between those who wielded Keyblades for opposite sides."

"Opposite sides? What do you mean?" Sora responded.

"Surely you knew about the legend that I stated in that report: the one where the Keyblade could bring either salvation OR chaos for the worlds. And surely you also know that there are Keyblades from the dark realm as well as the realm of light, as that miniature king stole a Keyblade from the dark realm. We simply are ones that will bring about destruction."

"For what purpose? What do you gain by causing so much harm?" asked Kairi.

At that, one of those in the back stepped out of the shadows, a brown, mummified looking Keyblade in the hand of someone with abnormally long fingers, strange markings on his face and what was visible of his chest, wearing purple robes, and blue hair that went down to just below the neck,, and a sinister looking face.

"We don't need to reveal everything to you. Suffice it to say, that by bringing about the destruction of this world and many others, we will be bettering the worlds, ending the pain and suffering that people endure in this fragile realm, and we will usher in an era free of pain and sorrow." All this was spoken by the person who had just stepped into view."

"That is a horribly messed up logic. Why should this world be forced to suffer from your horrible plans?" Asked Leon, furious that his home was simply being used for a horrible plan.

"People never understand that I am trying to help. Whether they survive the process or not, I rid them of their pain and suffering. Surely an admirable goal for a Keyblade wielder from either the light or the dark?" Responded this new dark foe.

"That's incredibly sick, people shouldn't have to die for your plans. I'll take you out right now." Sora then slide dashed straight towards the offending person and stabbed him in the chest with his Keyblade, unfortunately-

"Master Seymour," one of the other shadowy figures said jokingly, this one very tall, and when showing himself, seemed to have an entirely red body, (A/N don't confuse him with our other red person, there are already too many "red" people in the story) "you should have mentioned that it would take more than one Keyblade wound to do you in."

"Forgive me, Master Rubicante," replied Seymour, who didn't seem to notice being stabbed, "I guess I forget that not everyone is as difficult to kill as I am." Directing his notice at Sora now, "You better retreat now, I will forgive this one time, given your ignorance."

Sora, though shocked, backed away very quickly, heading back to where Kairi, Riku, and Leon stood. All of the dark wielders laughing heavily as this occurred.

"Well then," resumed Xehanort at last, "I think it is time that I carried out my revenge on you all for thwarting my efforts to achieve power twice in a row." And with that, more dark creatures appeared out of nowhere, along with a swarm that had been steadily heading uphill from the base of the mountain while the conversation at the summit occurred.

They were completely surrounded.

"Farewell, my foes, you shall die here, and your friends, along with this world will be forever lost to the darkness." Xehanort was smiling very widely, happy that his goals would be achieved so soon.

However, just as our heroes were about to be flattened by the horde, the first few rows were obliterated from the fire of a Gummi Ship that had just appeared from behind the building. Heading straight towards Sora and company it hovered just above an area it had cleared right next to Sora and company.

"It's the _Highwind_!" Sora said.

Just as he said that, the side hatch opened, Mickey at the entrance, calling out to everyone, "Come on guys, get on, we have to get out of here!"

Everyone complied, hurriedly getting on, and before Xehanort and anyone or anything else could act, the _Highwind _was in the sea of space, heading to another world for safety. Inside the ship were also Donald, Goofy, Cid, Tifa, Yuffie, Aerith, and Merlin, all looking battle worn and heavily tired.

"We're sorry," said Mickey, "there were just too many of them for us to handle."

Indeed, as they were leaving, Hallow Bastion had completely disappeared behind a shroud of darkness, the first battle and the first world in the resurrected Keyblade War lost to the side of light.

Back in the fortress of the mysterious person, the cloaked figure finished observing the fall of Hallow Bastion into the darkness, and the failure and the escape of Sora and the rest from their mission.

"Yes, there is certainly reasonable doubt now as to whether those Keyblade wielders can save the worlds again. With that, I think I can threaten the balance myself now with a _test_ or two for him. And I know just the person to use for my first _test_."

Summoning one of his circular red portals, he stepped into it. "It will be hard though to find him, he's almost as good at traveling the dimensions and the worlds as I am. At least I will be able to have some more fun. It has been too long." And with that, the portal and the man were gone; searching for the person he would use to challenge Sora.

Author's notes.

I'm sorry this chapter was short, but this was merely the conclusion to the other chapter that was too long to contain this one. But I hope you all like having the always frustrating and sick Seymour as one of the dark Keyblade wielders. And if you've played a certain Final Fantasy game, you should figure out whom I have adapted to be the other three so far unnamed wielders.

Anyway, what are these dark monsters that Xehanort seems to have control over? Why are there other evil people holding Keyblades, and where were they up until now. And, what type of test does our red-cloak loving persona have in mind for our hero?

I think you all will like the answer to the last question when it is revealed in (?) number of chapters.

'Till next time

The "Prophetic Lion"


	6. Resting and Regrouping

Square-Enix and Disney own Kingdom Hearts, not the college student writing this in his undisclosed dorm room.

Chapter 6: Resting and Regrouping

"Where are we heading now?" Asked a weary Sora.

"Back to Disney Castle, with the Cornerstone of Light there, we can rest and rethink our strategy in safety from the darkness. We'll figure out what to do next when we get there. In the meantime, just rest up," Mickey responded as the wise King and Keybearer that he was.

"I'll be in one of those new rooms this ship has." And with that Sora started heading towards a hallway in the newly expanded Gummi Ship. Passing by a lounge area, he spotted Yuffie, Aerith and Tifa hanging out, each looking dejected from the loss. Sora figured that Merlin was in another private room, Cid was probably arguing over the controls with Donald while Goofy watched and took over a side station, while the rest were still near the side entrance.

Entering a room with a simple bed, desk, a couple chairs, and some lights, Sora plopped down onto the bed, sitting at the side, his head in his hands. The clear and absolute loss of Radiant Garden and the reappearance of an enemy he had, in a way, defeated twice had left Sora in a deep despair he had not felt since that one time when he learned time that all his efforts in fighting the Heartless aided Organization XIII, along with having to humiliate himself in front of Saix in an attempt to free Kairi all in the span of a quarter-hour. In addition, the one named Seymour, who appeared completely unharmed by what should have been a fatal strike, if not a critical one from his Keyblade. How was he supposed to combat that? What were those new monsters that they all fought against today? And then there was supposed to such a thing as a Keyblade war in the past. All these others who could use the Keyblade; what was the point of him being the Keyblade master? "_Man did it choose a dud this time." _The words of the former Nobody came to his head. Was he really a dud? No, he wouldn't have been able to save the realm of light twice were he a dud, and Xigbar wasn't around anymore, as the person he proclaimed a dud sent him packing for good. And to top it all off, there was that mysterious figure whom somehow knew who he was, and without even trying, took Leon out. And what was all that about observing. Who was he?

After this thought, a knock came on the door. "Sora, are you in there, can I come in?" Kairi's worried voice penetrated the room and entered Sora's ears.

"Sure Kairi."

Kairi came in, a little worse for the wear as everyone else involved in the battle was, though she looked better than Sora did at the moment. She proceeded to take a seat on the bed right next to Sora immediately, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you okay Sora?"

"I'm not sure at the moment, Kairi. We were just defeated soundly, and as you saw, our new opponents can also use the Keyblade. I failed to protect that world, and therefore failed as keybearer."

"You didn't fail in protecting me, you kept that promise. And you have saved the worlds a number of times now. You were bound to slip up eventually. But you will correct that mistake soon enough. I know you will."

As she said this, she scooted closer to Sora, resting her head on his shoulder. Sora put his arms around her body, embracing the girl who was always his light and comfort even in his darkest moments, glad that he had someone he could be this close to.

"Thank you Kairi. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would travel around without tiring until you saved me again, that's what. And I love you for it."

"And I love you."

Their embrace of each other tightened, seeking comfort in the other and forgetting about all the troubles surrounding them as they both fell asleep in that embrace, falling backwards onto the bed, neither letting go…

"Sora, Kairi, wake up, we're at the castle."

Riku had come upon the sleeping couple, taking it upon himself the duty of letting his friends know that the Gummi ship had reached Disney castle. But seeing as they didn't seem to respond to his first summoning, he would have to be a little crueler about it.

"Oy, Sora, Kairi, since when did you two start sleeping together?" Riku yelled from the foot of the bed.

That somehow got their attention.

Both sprung up right away looking embarrassed and furious at the accusation.

"It's nothing like that." They said in unison, defending themselves vehemently from Riku.

"Sure it isn't." Riku said in an amused voice. He figured it was appropriate to have some fun with his friends for not waking up the first time.

"Oh you know we are more responsible than that, Riku." Sora replied, a great amount of red on his face.

"Hey, you didn't wake up at first, so I figured I would have some fun with you two. It's your fault for giving me the perfect bait to get you up. Besides, you were only out for two hours, the journey from Radiant Garden to Disney Castle isn't that long."

Both Sora and Kairi got up, both still heavily red in the face, and went with Riku to exit the Gummi Ship. Everyone else was already outside, as they proceeded to the gardens outside of the Gummi garage.

"Wow, this place is beautiful Sora. And you've been here before?" Kairi was amazed by the beauty and peacefulness of the gardens and the impressive castle.

"Yeah, I was. Only last time we Goofy, Donald, and I had to fend off a whole bunch of heartless because Pete was trying to mess up the past of this place so that it wouldn't be a safe haven against the darkness. But no one will be able to do that again," Sora replied with his trademark smile, holding hands with Kairi.

"Come on guys, we'll meet in the library. After we determine the next course of action, we can rest up here for a short bit, then head out." Mickey was the one to issue that order, heading straight there, a serious expression on his face.

They all were in the library in a matter of minutes, Mickey in the chair behind the desk, Leon was leaning against the bookshelf, Merlin was in a chair to the side, Tifa was standing by the door, and everyone else was gathered around the desk Mickey was at.

"Riku told me what happened to you guys during the couple hours we were on the Gummi Ship. I have rarely been more worried. There has not been a Keyblade war for eleven years. (A/N, since Birth by Sleep is supposed to be 10 years before the first KH game, it is eleven now, more than a year after the events of KH1.) And I am at a loss as to how six dark Keyblade wielders could all appear at once, or why they congregated at Radiant Garden."

"Wait," said Sora, you were around and had a Keyblade back then, right? So don't you know more about the threat, and what happened in whatever this Keyblade war was?

"I only came in near the very end. Most of that time, I was training under Master Yen Sid, with Goofy and Donald watching over me during that time. I don't even fully understand why Xehanort is back."

"What happened when you participated, Mickey?" Riku asked calmly.

At this question, Mickey's face paled, looking guilty, as though he knew something terrible.

"I don't want to say. I promised someone not to tell what occurred there. Master Yen Sid is the only other one who knows what happened there. He knows because he could use his powers to observe what I was doing. The promise was made to protect a person's dignity. However, you all should know what happen there. Yen Sid is not bound by that promise. If we go to him, he will be able to tell you all you need to know about the conflict that you have been dragged into. He also knows more than I do, as he knew more of what was going on during my training."

"Then it's settled then," said Sora in a serious tone, "tomorrow we head to Yen Sid's tower on the outskirts of Twilight Town, and find out more about the enemy. I won't make the King break a promise to a person again if I can find out the same information from someone else."

"Thank you Sora," the mouse king replied, grateful that he did not have to be put in such a difficult situation again.

At that moment, Minnie came in. Looking around, she saw that everyone had started to head towards the door.

"Oh good, you all are done. I was just wondering how many people would be staying, and for how long. I heard from Jiminy that Radiant Garden had fallen. We would be happy to provide places to stay for all our guests until they can return home."

"Ah, yes," said Merlin, "I'm too old to be journeying around, so I'll be staying here until Sora and everyone can fix everything up like they have in the past so well."

"Dang it, I'm getting too old also, not that I want to be compared to this old guy," said Cid, looking towards Merlin, whom he never got along too well with, "I can help out with the Gummi Ships docked here though, so I won't be useless."

"Well no one's stopping the number one ninja from coming. I'll just be one of those staying the night and heading out tomorrow," said the hyperactive-Yuffie.

"Hey," said Cid, "I need someone I know that is fit to help me make better gummi ships, you're staying."

"What?!? Between you and Merlin, I'll be stuck with a couple of old farts." Yuffie protested.

"I will also stay then to keep you company, as I am not much of a fighter myself," said Aerith in her eternally soft and comforting voice.

"Hmph," replied Yuffie in reluctant agreement.

"Well I'm going," said Leon, "I'm want to find out why our world is victim to the darkness again, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help bring it out of that darkness."

"Cloud is out there somewhere," replied Tifa with a fierce look in her eye, "and I think that I will have a better chance of finding him if I go with you all. I certainly won't find him waiting around here."

"Goofy and I are going too, in case you forgot about us," replied Donald.

"Hey Donald, don't forget to tell Daisy first," Goofy said with a mischievous glint in his eye. (Is Goofy capable of that?)

"Of course, Goofy, what do you think I am, a heartless?"

Donald was sweating profusely under his feathers though.

And with that, everyone left the library to go to the rooms that Minnie ordered the brooms to show them too.

"Hey Mickey," asked Riku, who had slowed down to talk to Mickey, "this is my first time here, but where did you get those self-walking brooms?"

Mickey turned red again. "That is something I don't want to talk about either, but simply because I'm too embarrassed to recall a certain mishap of my own while with Master Yen Sid. It seems that I'm doomed today to recall all the mistakes of a decade ago," sighed Mickey, as he excused himself to go spend some time with Minnie.

Author's notes.

Sorry I took long with the update. It's on the longer side though. I hope this chapter was fluffy enough for those tired of the last couple chapters of action. Yen Sid will finally clear up a bunch of things (hopefully) in the next chapter or two. I hope you didn't mind my shamelessly reducing the number of characters that I have to write about on the journey.

What is Mickey hiding that he is so ashamed about? (Apart from the brooms, Fantasia answers that.)

Some reviews would be nice. I know there are people reading this based on the "hit" count. Even if they are negative, so I can tweak a few things if necessary.

'Till Next Time

The "Prophetic Lion"


	7. Answers in Twilight

Sorry, it's been a while since I've updated. (Relatively of course.) I am using the clichéd college life excuse. Without any further ado, (besides the disclaimer,) chapter seven.

Disclaimer: There are so many witty remarks on this site about not owning things, I am running out of original material to make jokes about how I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 7: Answers in Twilight

In the giant Disney garden, one could find a certain brown-haired Keyblade wielding teenager lying down on the grass in the late afternoon sun, an hour or so after the meeting held in the library. As to why Sora wasn't resting in the room showed to him, he naturally enjoyed sleeping outside when there is a sunny and peaceful atmosphere. It was the perfect contrast to having to be active against the darkness. Of course, he wasn't going to get much further in his rest, as a certain red-headed girl was about to create some shade over his head in an all too familiar fashion.

"Hey, get up you lazy bum."

Sora shot up in an instant, they might as well have been back on Destiny Islands.

"I'll have you know, I haven't been called a lazy bum for a long time now.

"We rested a little on the Gummi ship, and now we have some time for me to practice. I want to learn some magic now. So I'll call you a lazy bum if you don't," Kairi said with a smile.

"Magic huh, I can't guarantee I can teach you as well as Merlin taught me, but I'll do my best. I'll want something for not being a 'lazy bum' at this moment though," Sora said with a look of desire in his eye.

Kairi caught on quick, giving Sora a brief kiss on the lips.

"You can get more of that afterwards," Kairi said seductively.

"You win, Kairi," Sora said with a sigh, the sensation not entirely gone from his lips, but still wanting more.

"What spell will we start with? Can we try that one that you used to protect me with earlier today?" Kairi asked in anticipation.

"The reflect spell is a difficult one to start with, you will want to start off with something more basic. I didn't even learn reflect until later in my journeys. Let's start out with the cure spell. That way, if anyone gets hurt, you will be able to save them right away. It has saved me in more battles than I can count when I was out of potions or Donald wasn't around to heal me."

"All right then, we can learn that," Kairi said, only slightly put off after hearing Sora's explanation for waiting out on the reflect spell.

"Right, get your Keyblade out then, as that is what you will use to channel the power necessary to use the spell." As Sora said this, the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand, and Kairi summoned Island's Embrace in her own hand.

"Now, as you figured, the cure spell is meant to heal injuries and to a certain extent, fatigue. So in that case, I'm going to injure my leg." And without warning, Sora slashed his left leg, a few inches above the knee, with his Keyblade, grimacing in pain as he kneeled down on the grass.

"Sora, are you okay?" Kairi asked worryingly.

"This is almost nothing, I've been hurt worse. But know you are going to try to heal me. You're cure spell will have limited range at first, so stand close to me. Then, focus in your mind the will to live, and the image of vanishing injuries. Afterwards, swing your Keyblade into the air above your head, and say either 'cure' or 'heal.'"

"Okay then," Kairi said with apprehension in her voice.

And with that, she focused on seeing a fully healed Sora, leg injury vanishing in seconds, swinging her Keyblade into the air and focusing the will of that thought into her weapon, saying-

"Cure."

Upon completing those steps, a green aura surrounded Kairi and Sora, as all that was left of the injury was the tiniest of scratches. Sora then got up, all pain gone from his face, and hugged Kairi from behind.

"That was very good for a first try. I'm up and good as new, ready to take on enemies once again. I guess you have a knack for this spell. Keep it up, and the range and power of the spell will improve incredibly. I can extend the range to a few meters when necessary to help someone else out right now"

"Well, I guess I have to pay up for having a good teacher," Kairi said with a smile on her face.

"Huh?" Sora, who seemed to have forgotten the deal he had made during the lesson, was suddenly caught off guard by Kairi, who proceeded to kiss him fully on the lips. Of course, that action seemed to jostle his memory, and returned the kiss in full force, savoring the moment that he was having with Kairi. It was their first full kiss since they declared their love to each other back on the islands, and it was as pleasurable as could possibly be.

He should give Kairi magic lessons more often, he thought.

1

1

1

The next morning, everyone was assembled around the Gummi Ship, as they all prepared to say their farewells to those remaining at the castle.

"Take care everyone," Aerith said calmly.

"Come back soon everyone," Minnie spoke up, resignation in her voice over her husband's duties.

"Donald, you better stay out of trouble," Daisy spoke up fiercely. Donald flinched at the remark.

"I'll get Cid to make another gummi ship soon so I can follow along," Yuffie said excitedly.

"Hey, don't talk about me like that," Cid said angrily.

"Is everyone ready?" Mickey asked to the group.

Sora, Kairi, Riku, Leon, Tifa, Donald, and Goofy all nodded their heads to answer.

"Goodbye everyone."

And so the ship took off into the sea of space with its destination Yen Sid's tower on the border of Twilight Town. While Donald and Leon were fighting over the controls, (albeit it was short lived, as Leon was not in the mood to fight with an incomprehensible duck,) In the recreational room, Mickey and Goofy were together, catching up on old times, Sora and Riku were standing near the doorway, while Kairi and Tifa were sitting on a couch.

"I don't think we ever met properly, I'm Tifa."

"I'm Kairi. I'm a friend of Sora's and Riku's."

"You seem to be more than friends with Sora though."

"Well, yeah. I'm in love with Sora," Kairi said with a blush. "How'd you know?"

"Well, apart from woman's intuition, you two seemed to be enjoying yourselves quite a bit in the gardens when I was passing by."

Kairi's blush turned a darker red.

"Do you have someone you are in love with?"

"Y-yes, but he's troubled and is always trying to handle everything on his own. And I'm always searching for him, but he always gets away before I can help or get him to stay. Sora's run into him a couple times now, and even helped him find his enemy, Sephiroth."

"Sora mentioned something about them when he was retelling his adventures during the week we were back at home. He mentioned that he fought that Sephiroth guy and that he was really powerful, but had faith that Cloud would eventually defeat him. I hope you can be together with Cloud again soon."

"I hope so too, Kairi. I'll keep searching till I find him and get him to stay with me. And I figure that since Sora has a knack for running into Cloud, if I tag along with you all, I'll have a good chance."

"Well, I'll help you anytime, I remember the pain of being away from Sora for over a year, no one should feel that way."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Meanwhile, Sora and Riku were talking about their new enemies and mysteries that they are now up against.

"How is it possible for Xehanort to have a Keyblade, Riku?"

"It doesn't make sense to me either. From what I heard from Ansem when I was helping him out, Xehanort simply appeared mysteriously a decade before, memories gone, and close to death. That, and by the time a year had passed, (1) all his assistants under Xehanort's leadership fell to the darkness, the Heartless born, and those six becoming the original members of Organization XIII."

"Yeah, most of that was in Ansem's real reports. I brought both sets of reports with me, just in case."

"That's good I guess. But what is concerning me more is that other person we ran into."

"You mean the one that took out Leon without trying?"

"Yeah, I could tell that he was very powerful. But why is he not doing anything if he is so powerful. All he did was spew some 'observe' nonsense, and warned us about losing. What bothers me though was that I couldn't tell whether he was light or dark."

"Was he some type of Nobody?"

"No. his scent was certainly not that of a Nobody's."

"I have a feeling we'll run into him again. We can find out more then."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"_I'll find out what bothers me so much about him, though," _Riku thought as he stared at the ceiling.

1

1

1

The rest of the ride went without any incident, and they had arrived at Twilight Town, right in front of the train station, where the train that would take them to Yen Sid's tower was located. Sora and Mickey gave everyone a look before boarding the train, and everyone nodded back, ready to hear the answers as to why such terrible things were occurring.

"At least Twilight Town is more peaceful now that the Organization isn't around," Sora remarked out loud.

"Yeah, I was around here often, making sure the Nobodies were kept far away enough from the mansion where you were getting back your memories," Riku remarked.

"How did I lose my memories anyway?" Sora remarked.

"It's a long story, but I'll recall it for you another time."

They quickly reached the tower, and started ascending the winding staircase, and finally reached the room where Yen Sid resided. Stepping inside, they saw Yen Sid behind his desk, his usual grave expression on his face.

"I see it is time for me to give you all some answers concerning the past and the enemies you must face…"

1

1

1

Somewhere far away, on a distant world, in the nighttime desert, a figure cloaked in red could be seen talking to something that only went up to right below the knees.

"He went into that passage, you said?"

"Kupo, according to my brother, that was where he was last seen, kupo."

"Does your brother have any more business with him?"

"No, kupo. My brother's men already took care of him for my brother's client, kupo."

"Just to be sure that he is who I'm looking for, could you tell me what that person did to the client?"

The small creature described what he could of what happened to the client.

"Yes, he is who I am looking for. Thank you, you have been helpful. You can return to the city now. If you need, I can escort you back so no monsters will go after you."

"No thanks, kupo. I'll be fine on my own. The monsters in that passage though are much tougher, kupo."

"There is no need to worry about me, my problem would be to hold back." At this, he started to walk towards his new destination. He turned around to say one more thing though.

"Oh, by the way, I never talked to you. Understood?"

"Kupo."

1

1

1

Author's notes:

According to KH1, Maleficent started using heartless 9 years before the start of the game. That leaves only one year (if we assume that Xehanort appeared to Ansem right after the events of BBS) to create the heartless and initiate the problems that Sora had to deal with in his first two (and a half) journeys.

Sorry, I thought I would get Yen Sid's long explanation in this chapter, but once again the journey took longer then expected just to get there. It'll be in the next chapter, I promise. I'll label the chapter "Twilight Recollection."

And I think I made it possible to deduce the identity of the mystery man that our own red clad mystery man is going to use to test Sora, though I left out the most crucial clue.

I'll try to update soon, but there is this thing called college.

The "Prophetic Lion"


	8. Twilight Recollection

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any way. Even the clues that Square-Enix have leaked concerning their new games that I have used to form the basis of the plot for this story are not mine. Though I believe that some of the things I have derived from them are true, I realize most of it is my own flourishing to aid me in this purely fan-made story.

1

1

1

Chapter 8: Twilight Recollection

"You know why we are here?" Sora asked directly to the sorcerer behind the desk.

"My magical powers alerted me to the renewed presence of powerful people, and I know that my pupil would avoid divulging to much, as it would encroach upon keeping his promise to an apprentice keyblader from Destiny Islands who made a terrible sacrifice to overcome a powerful foe."

"What?" Sora, Riku, and Kairi all spoke out at once.

"There were others from the islands that could use the Keyblade?" Sora inquired.

"Yes, three in fact. However, unlike you three, they were only at the strength of apprentice, while all of you have achieved the strength in your hearts to be masters, even if your actual combat skills did not match up to your potential when you first received the Keyblade."

"I think you need to start explaining what happened in the past, to help us understand what you are saying now," Riku said calmly.

"Very well." Yen Sid slowly took a deep breath, closed his ancient eyes for a moment, then exhaled slowly.

"There used to be many more people who could wield the Keyblade, though some were more powerful than others. Usually each world had one on average. Those who had achieved the rank of "Master," would automatically have a keychain attached to their Keyblade, signifying great power, and to have incredibly strong hearts. The fact that different key chains signifying a connection to something significant in the wielders heart could change the form of the Keyblade to give it more power only added to the power of the legends concerning the Keyblade and those who wielded it. I believe that you, Sora, have attained much power by the connections you have made, while earning certain key chains."

"They have," Sora said, "I owe so much to my friends who have lent me their power in such a way." He looked at Kairi and Riku in particular while saying this. Riku merely turned his face away while shrugging his shoulders, while Kairi looked at Sora lovingly.

"There were very few with the rank of master, though they would sometimes train apprentice wielders, to help them live up to their potential. Eleven years ago, there were two had the rank of Master who lived and used Keyblades from the realm of light. The first was the original king of Disney castle before Mickey succeeded him, a man by the name of Walt. The other was none other than…Xehanort."

"Xehanort!? But how, when he was so steeped in darkness? How could he have been a wielder of the Keyblade?" Sora asked.

"This is where I need to explain something else first. There were also denizens of the Dark Realm who could wield the Keyblade, though they were Keyblades of darkness, such as the one that my former pupil here now wields. There were six masters from the realm of darkness, one of whom, 12 years ago, before the Keyblade war began, was stripped of her ability to wield the Keyblade by the combined efforts of the other five, for seeking ambitions of her own that went opposite to the desires of the others, though she still maintained great dark sorceress powers, and lives on to this day trying through various schemes to take over and become ruler over the realm of light."

"Do you mean-" Riku started to say.

"Yes I am referring to Maleficent, who originally came from the Dark Realm. As to why I am explaining this now, will be evident later in my tale. But now I must explain the nature of those who come from the dark realm. Most of them are simply mindless beasts, consumed by the darkness that they were born in, and simply exist to destroy. However, there are some who are really powerful, who can gain consciousness, who might attempt to break free from the dark realm to cause chaos in the realm of light. That is not to say that everyone who is evil hails from the realm of darkness, and it may even be possible for some who become self aware in that realm, to turn out to be good people. But I digress. Of those who are strong, and strong at heart, they too can be chosen to wield the Keyblade, though they are ones that are composed of darkness as opposed to light. In addition, though they started as terrifying beasts, they are capable of assuming a humanoid form, so that they may be more capable of using the Keyblade in the most proficient way. However, I'm sure you noticed if you have already seen a couple of them, that there transformations are for the most part incomplete, or that there are several markers that differentiate them from normal humans from the realm of light."

At this, Sora recalled the markings and the extended fingers of Seymour, along with Rubicante's tall red body. What could their true forms have been?

"You must be careful when facing them, for it might be possible for them to fuse the powers of the Keyblade into themselves to unleash their true forms and become more powerful in that form than they originally were. Maleficent's true form, for example, was that of a powerful black dragon, though it was sealed along with her ability to use the Keyblade. Of course, it was unsealed temporarily when Xehanort's Heartless, under the guise of Riku, used that artificial Keyblade forged from the hearts of six of the seven Princesses of Heart to try and defeat Sora, though I do not believe he knew of Maleficent's past at that point in time."

"But why would he know, how does he suddenly know all these things. Is he the same Xehanort that we faced and was a former Keyblade master?" Sora complained.

"Just to be sure, did you see the shape and color of his Keyblade? Was it blue with silver and black edges, or black with red at the edge of the blade?

"It was the second that you mentioned," Sora replied.

I see. It is now time that I started to explain the Keyblade war. Eleven years ago, the dark wielders attempted to flood the realm of light with darkness and destruction. Their goal was simple: By destroying the balance between the two realms they would force Kingdom Hearts to appear, where it would then unleash its power to correct the balance. However, using their Keyblades, they would rob Kingdom Hearts of its power, making it their own, and they would eternally plunge everything into darkness as they ruled all. To plunge the worlds into darkness, they would summon an endless number of mindless beasts that exist in the dark realm, and weigh down any world that existed in the realm of light to sink into the depths of the dark realm. The only ones who stood in their way were the Keyblade wielders in the realm of light. While many were able to hold out for a long time, and some saved their worlds, almost all of them lost their lives at the hands of their dark counterparts. And while the dark apprentices could be slain, the 5 Dark Masters were near unstoppable. The fight could have turned around, except for the fact that Master Walt was ill, and Master Xehanort had vanished along with his personal apprentice. It was later revealed, however, that it was Master Xehanort's greed and desire for power that led him to ally himself with the darkness, and become the leader of the Dark Keyblade Masters. The only people in the way were the three apprentices that Master Walt had sent to pursue and apprehend Xehanort. They were given the title of "Chasers," in accordance with their goal. In the meantime, Master Walt sent his remaining disciple, Mickey, to train under me, with Goofy and Donald to supervise on his behalf."

"What happened to all these other wielders, before Master Walt sent his three apprentices?" Kairi asked.

"They all ended up dead, in their efforts to hold back the dark fiends, along with some of the dark apprentices. They all fell to one of the Dark Masters. As for what happened to the Dark Masters, they fell at the hands of Master Walt's apprentices on their journey to stop Master Xehanort. Though they could not actually kill them, they were able to utilize the combined powers of their Keyblades to seal them in prisons in the dark realm that they could briefly open up in those brief circumstances."

"Who were these three the ones from Destiny Islands?" Sora asked.

"Yes, they are," Yen Sid stated. "And their names were Terra, Aqua, and Ven."

Upon hearing those names, for a brief moment, Sora wasn't in the tower. Instead, he saw the brief images of brooding old man walking towards him, two others in metal armor, another in a dark armor similar to Riku's former dark form armor, all carrying Keyblades, and then the feeling of being frozen as he fell from a mountain plateau losing a couple limbs in the process. And finally, an image of someone who looked like Roxas, in the position that Sora imagined himself in just less than a second ago, eyes still moving behind the frozen exterior as a girl with blue hair looked over him…

"Sora!" Kairi said loudly and with worry in her voice.

Sora found himself to be in on his knees, back in the tower, Kairi kneeling in front of him with her hands on his shoulders. He was covered in a cold sweat.

"Huh, what just happened?" Sora inquired.

"All of a sudden, you just fell to your knees, and were like that for almost half a minute," Riku stated.

"You mean, none of you saw what I saw?"

"What do you mean, Sora?" Kairi asked worryingly.

"I saw someone get frozen and defeated by some older looking man with a Keyblade," Sora stated. He decided it was best neither to trouble them with saying that he witnessed being frozen firsthand, nor mentioning that at the last moment, his point of view shifted for him to realize that the person looked a lot (if not entirely) like his nobody Roxas.

While everyone else paid attention to Sora, Mickey and Yen Sid quickly shot a glance at each other, as though they suspected that there was more, but knew to keep silent for now.

"From what Mickey had told me a long time ago, it seems you witnessed Ven's tragic end," Yen Sid said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What, but how?" Sora asked.

"I have a few suspicions, but I think it best that you try and solve this mystery on your own first. However, my story concerning the Keyblade War is almost finished.

Though the three were able to seal away the other Dark Masters, there were too many worlds that had been swallowed by darkness, and they were unable to apprehend Master Xehanort and his apprentice. In a last ditch attempt, they headed to the place that Kingdom Hearts would appear to start correcting the damage done before their opponents could. An area that exists between the two worlds, and only has portals appearing to it at sparse times: Sunset Horizon, the place that is home to the Keyblades of all those who had died in battle, creating the crossroads of life that reflect the choices that we make, whether we walk the path of light, dark, or in-between."

"_I'm taking the middle path,"_ Riku recalled having said that once to DiZ, when he appeared before him in a similar path right after he had learned to accept both darkness and light at Castle Oblivion. "_The road to dawn."_ Would he still be able to walk that path?

Xehanort and his apprentice overpowered their opponents throughout the fight; such was their ability. Ven was frozen right before Terra's eyes, and was thrown down to where Aqua was injured. Terra himself was then pushed back a great deal by all the Keyblades that Xehanort and his apprentice were manipulating. At that moment, Xehanort used the power of his Keyblade to reveal Kingdom Hearts to him in the sky, about to gain the ultimate power. What happens next is a little confusing. By the time Mickey had gotten there, there was no trace of Ven or Aqua, and Terra was starting to fight on equal ground with the others, as he started using the power of darkness to fight."

"How did he get ability to wield the darkness?" Riku asked with suspicion in his voice.

"At some point, when the Chasers had taken separate paths, Terra came across Maleficent. Both desiring the fall of Xehanort, Terra wanting to save the worlds, Maleficent out of revenge, they had made some sort of deal, the exact details I do not know. Mickey, afterwards, promised to hide Terra's shame in using the darkness. Which is why I am the one to explain this to you."

Mickey bowed his head, sadness overtaking him, as an old friend's shame had been revealed despite the promise he kept.

"Xehanort in the end was slain by the combined efforts of the two, and Terra, who had once been friends with Xehanort's apprentice, rather than kill him, used the darkness to seal his heart and memories, and left him to be taken care of by someone on a different world. However, Terra's injuries and use of the darkness had taken his toll on him. His body died. However, because of the strength of his heart, and the darkness and hatred he possessed for what had occurred, his soul and heart fused to make a spirit that can still wield the Keyblade."

At that point, Sora recalled a terrifyingly harsh battle with a mysterious being who had a Keyblade, who had worn armor, in a place Sora discovered through a vortex in the basement of Disney castle, and the words that he had left with Sora upon being defeated:

_" All I have left is my hatred for Xehanort."_

"He's still there, at Sunset Horizon. He said all he had left was his hatred for Xehanort," Sora said sadly, explaining how he had come across this person with Donald and Goofy who were there to back him up.

"And it seems his kindness to his friend turned enemy proved disastrous. For whatever reason, that apprentice had assumed the identity of 'Xehanort,' and was rescued by Ansem the Wise, who's desire to save his world from darkness ended up creating the opposite effect."

"But how could the Xehanort we know be back, and with a Keyblade, when his memories and heart were sealed, and we destroyed both his Heartless and his Nobody?" Sora asked.

"You know that when a heartless is defeated by the Keyblade, that heart is freed and the person in question, should there not be a Nobody of him or her, returns to normal, unaware of what had happened to him."

"Yeah, of course I do," Sora replied.

"It is the same for a Nobody. If it is slain, and its heart has already been freed, that person is brought back. This explains how the Xehanort you know is back. As to why his memories are back, it is my theory that the light of Kingdom Hearts that his Heartless was exposed to destroyed the dark seal placed upon his heart. And Xemnas, without a heart, did not have the seal to keep his memories in check. Brought back, I believe that Xehanort will be in possession of all his memories, including those of when he was split, and of before he was defeated eleven years ago. And with his Keyblade, I believe he had ventured into the Dark Realm to release the other Dark Masters. It will be your job to defeat them all, once and for all, so that they may not plunge the worlds into darkness again. As you now know, your foes are incredibly powerful. This is all that I know. The rest is up to you."

1

1

1

1

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry this took longer than usual, but I had to think much more about the specifics of the rules guiding this story as they were now to be put down in words. I really need everyone's feedback now, as I have laid out the major plot. Thank you very much to Shire Folk who has become a loyal reviewer, along to those who have also posted a review or two. Please tell me if there is anything I should tweak.

I hope you all caught the one or two amusing allusions I made in the middle of the chapter.

I've already started writing the next chapter, as I thought it would go into this one, but I figured it was good to end the chapter where it was. The next one should be up soon, though it'll probably be on the shorter side.

Please Review

'Till Next Time

Prophetic Lion


	9. Partings and Plans

Sorry, I thought this would have been up sooner. This chapter ended up longer than I expected it to be.

Disclaimer: Except my one OC, none of the characters here belong to me.

1

1

1

Chapter 9: Partings and Plans

Sora and the others took several moments for this to sink in.

"I guess we start by traveling the worlds again," Sora said.

Looking around, he saw that all of his companions were ready to go with him everywhere he had to go.

"Thank you, Yen Sid, I know what I must do now. Shall we all start our new journey?" Sora said with optimism and excitement.

"Oh, before you go," Yen Sid spoke up, "I would like to ask for a few things."

"Sure, what?" Sora replied.

"First off, if you have them with you, I would like to have both sets of Ansem Reports, so that I may examine them myself. The second, and I realize you will be hesitant to agree to this, is to have Kairi stay here with me for a short while, so that I can hone her skills with the Keyblade, as I did with Mickey long ago. There has never before been someone who is both a Princess of Heart, and a Keyblade wielder, I believe I can help her develop unique powers that could aid greatly later in your journey later on."

"Kairi…stay with you? Are you okay with this Kairi?" Sora asked with shock in his voice.

"I…I would rather stay with you, Sora. But, I wasn't very useful in that last fight, and we all will be busy for you to sneak in some lessons for me. I'll agree to stay for a short time Master Yen Sid, so that I can be more useful to Sora and the others," Kairi said with determination.

"If that's what you want, Kairi, I won't stop you," Sora said worryingly.

"Don't worry, lover boy," Tifa said, coming over to Sora and pinching his cheek. "If it will calm your mind, I'll stay here with Kairi and help with her training. I'm sure she could use some combat practice as well. If that's okay with you, Yen Sid."

"Yes, I believe that would be agreeable. And I guess I will have to use good use of the little time I have. After you visit a couple worlds, you may come back here to retrieve your friends," Yen Sid stated.

"I'll come back soon this time Kairi, I promise."

"I know you will Sora."

"And if you don't, I'll make sure you pay for it," Tifa said threateningly.

While Sora flinched at the expression on Tifa's face, Donald seemed unaffected, and decided to retort back.

"Hey, who do you think Sora is, Cloud?" Donald said unashamedly.

There are people who are tactful with words. People who know not to mention things of a sensitive nature in a rude way to people who can cause extreme amounts of pain.

Judging by the punch that Tifa sent Donald out of the office and rolling down a spiraling staircase, Donald is not one of those people.

While most of the group flinched and were caught with gaping holes for mouths, Goofy, used to these sort of things went to check that Donald still had all his brain functions, and Tifa simply smiled while flicking her hair back, acting like nothing serious had happened.

"See Kairi, I'll have you taking care of jerks like that in no time," Tifa said sweetly.

Kairi just stood there silently, her face carrying a shocked expression. If this were an anime, there would be a large sweat drop visible from the back of her head right now.

Meanwhile, Riku edged over to Sora, whispering, "We would rather face Xemnas again then go against her, agreed?" To which Sora nodded quickly.

"Um," started a rarely startled Yen Sid, "the day has gotten late with my tale. You should all stay here till tomorrow morning, when you can set out on your journey. You can go look around Twilight Town if you want, but be my guests at my tower tonight."

"Come on, Sora, Kairi, I'll show you the top of the clock-tower here. Your Nobody Roxas would hang out there all the time," Riku said quickly.

"Hey, how do you know so much about him anyway I didn't even know that," Sora said indignantly. Kairi giggled at Sora's expression.

"Hey, DiZ and I had to keep tabs on him for a stretch of time," Riku said while rushing out of the office and down the stairs.

"Wait up!" Sora said, rushing after Riku, Kairi coming right behind.

Leon simply shrugged his shoulders, figuring he would check the town out, and left after politely excusing himself. Tifa figured she would go wonder too, though as she headed down the stairs, she looked at a Donald who had just regained consciousness, and upon making eye contact with her, panicked and started running away, Goofy following after him with a "Gawrsh."

Back in Yen Sid's study, Mickey and his former master were still present. Mickey, looking over at Yen Sid, decided to raise the question he had withheld for when everyone else was gone.

"Should we tell Sora about his connection to Ven? He's bound to wonder, if he caught a glimpse of what Ven looked like."

"As I said earlier," Yen Sid responded, "I believe this is something Sora needs to find out on his own. There may even be more than I am aware of, as I am not sure why Sora was able to have that vision. But we'll keep it quiet for now."

In The World That Never Was, a conversation between villains was taking place.

In the Hall of Empty Melodies, with a thorn-like table set up, and chairs that seemed to be made out of the same material as the table, without the thorns, was where this conversation transpired. Among those notably present, were Maleficent, Pete, a snake-like man, a silver-haired person wearing glasses at his right, and leaning against the wall a few feet back, a teenage boy with black hair, eyes currently closed, his other features hidden by a shadow.

"Are you satisfied with your own personal research into the nature of the Heartless?" Maleficent asked to the snake-like man.

"My research concerning them has indeed been fascinating. Pure instinctual creatures of darkness! I will be ready to use them soon in my own revenge. However, even more questions are raised," the man said with a creepy yet excited voice.

"And what would those be?" Maleficent replied darkly.

This time, the one wearing glasses answered.

"For whatever reason, the bodies of those whom we have subjected to the Heartless that you gave us simply vanished, leaving only more Heartless, whom, according to you, lack proper physical bodies. We were wondering, what happens to them? In addition, we were wondering if there was any research done on this by someone else before us, especially if they left a written record that we could examine. And personally, I would like to experiment on any bodies left behind, a personally hobby of mine to hone my skills." All of this was said politely, but a gleam in his eyes revealed a mischievous intent, hidden behind the glare of his glasses.

"Sometimes, there is a body left behind, called a Nobody, though it would appear somewhere else. This world in fact was once one of the prime areas for them to come into being. There may still be a few left; most have been eliminated already by that wretched boy and his Keyblade. As for those who have studied the Heartless before, there was one by the name of Xehanort, who had written a set of reports under the name of 'Ansem,' the person whom he served as an apprentice."

"And where would we find this 'Xehanort,' and his 'Ansem Reports?" The snake-like man said with enthusiasm.

"You can't," Maleficent harshly replied. "Both his Heartless and his Nobody have been thwarted by that brat and his lackeys. As for his reports, they were collected together by that brat, and I can surmise only a few possible locations that they could be now. Either they are on his person, which by the time we obtained them, we would already have had my revenge, they are at Disney Castle, which is protected by a light even my darkness can't penetrate, or they are with the former King's mentor, who is extremely powerful. A confrontation with him at this point would be foolhardy."

At that moment, someone else entered the hall, with purple metal armor, a cape that was black on the outside, but red on the inside, and a purple metal mask with gray horns. Approaching them, the man gave his report.

"My combined robotic and Heartless fleets have kept tabs on the movements of out enemies' gummi ship. After leaving Hollow Bastion, which disappeared into darkness, they are now currently in Twilight Town, my lady," he said with glee.

"Thank you Zurg. But did you say Hollow Bastion had fallen into darkness. Who could've done that?" Maleficent asked with amused curiosity in her voice.

"I had assumed you had done something, Maleficent, to begin your revenge against that kid with the Keyblade."

"I was completely unaware of it. I wonder?

"Perhaps we can hit two birds with one stone," the snake-like man said. "If this kid is in Twilight town, that means that we have two of the three locations for those reports together, and I would like to know what is in those reports. And if we can find out from them who brought about the darkness in Hollow Bastion, then we will have answered your question as well."

"And how will you go about doing that huh?" Pete spoke up boastfully.

"I think one person should be enough to accomplish what we need. Sasuke, were you paying attention to our little conversation?" The snake-like man looked over to the person leaning against the wall.

"Yes, despite how boring it was, Orochimaru," Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Well, consider this part of your training, to infiltrate this old man's tower to steal the reports, and if you can figure out who was behind the other mystery we were discussing." Orochimaru said.

"Ha, you think this punk can…can…" Pete couldn't finish the rest of his sentence, as he had now locked eyes with Sasuke, who had opened his, revealing red eyes with black dots surrounding the black pupil. After mere seconds, Pete had fallen onto his butt, panting, sweating, a look of absolute fear on his face.

"I'll do it, as long as I never have to work together with that idiotic fat piece of shit," Sasuke said, not giving Pete a second glance (one was clearly enough,) and instead looked at Maleficent and Orochimaru, both wearing grins on their faces.

"Very well then," Maleficent said, "I'll be sure to keep this imbecile away from you, if you can accomplish your goal."

"I'll go prepare now," Sasuke said, leaving the Hall of Empty Melodies to his room in the castle.

"How did you acquire such a powerful boy, Orochimaru?" Maleficent asked with amusement and curiosity in her voice again.

"He came to me, forsaking his friends, for power to obtain revenge against his brother, who is also powerful."

"I would watch out for him," Maleficent frowned, "it would not be the first time that someone betrayed the person who gave that someone power, to return to their friends."

Oh, that won't matter. Very soon, his body and his eyes will be mine personally. Besides, he won't rest till he kills his brother," Orochimaru said confidently.

"Nevertheless, keep an eye out for him," Maleficent warned again.

As she was about to leave, she turned a glance at Pete, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Get up you useless imbecile!"

1

1

1

1

1

Author's Notes: Thank you to my 3 reviewers for the last chapter. I'm glad you all are enjoying the plot so far.

Forgive me for what will be a temporary separation for Sora and Kairi, I realize I'm using an overused plot device to make Kairi stronger in a short amount of time off-screen.

And Donald, I'm sorry, you are much too fun to abuse.

Oh, and forgive me for the language for that one line, as I think that is how an IC Sasuke would probably refer to Pete. I'm glad I was able to get some attention back to the other forces of darkness this chapter.

I don't know when I'll update again, as the writing will probably start to get sticky for me soon. I know where I want to send Sora first though.

Till next time,

Prophetic Lion


End file.
